Ullmann, Liv

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
COPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc.

ULLMANN, Liv

Nationality: Norwegian. Born: Liv Johanne Ullmann in Tokyo, Japan, to Norwegian parents, 16 December 1939. Education: Attended schools in Trondheim, Norway; studied acting in London for eight months. Family: Married 1) Gappe Stang, 1960 (divorced 1965); 2) Donald Saunders, 1985; one daughter by the director Ingmar Bergman. Career: Late 1950s—acted with a repertory company in Stavanger for three years; 1957—film debut in Fjols til Fjells; 1960—acted with the National Theatre and the Norwegian Theatre, both in Oslo; 1966—first of a series of films for Bergman. Awards: Swedish Gold Bug for Best Actress, for Skammen, 1969; Best Actress, New York Film Critics, for Cries and Whispers and The Emigrants, 1972; Best Actress, New York Film Critics, for Scenes from a Marriage, 1974; Best Actress, New York Film Critics, for Face to Face, 1976. Address: 15 West 81st Street, New York, NY 10024, U.S.A.

On ULLMANN: articles—

Raphaelson, S., "For the Love of Liv," in American Film (Washington, D.C.), May 1977.

Ecran (Paris), March 1978.

Lally, K., "Ullmann Turns to Directing with Period Saga of Sofie," in Film Journal (New York), May 1993.

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From the mid-1960s, Liv Ullmann represented to American audiences a sensual and sophisticated screen presence that did not exist within Hollywood. Her earthy beauty was best utilized in a series of provocative films directed by her mentor, Ingmar Bergman.

Her film credits were few and minor—she had appeared in several little-known Norwegian features—when Ullmann first met Bergman in Stockholm. He offered her the principal role of the mute Elisabeth Vogler in the psychologically complicated and exacting study Persona. There followed not only an artistic collaboration between the director and actress, but for a time, a deep personal and emotional relationship. Persona gave Ullmann a great acting opportunity, and was both an artistic and personal success for her. "It was difficult," says Ullmann. "I prepared myself so that I read the script several times and I tried to divide it into certain sections. Bergman helped me a lot. He differs very much from what the majority of people think of him. People say that he is a demon, but it is not true at all. He simply knows whom to engage. He listens and then he tries to get the maximum from an actor."

Under Bergman's influence, Ullmann became an internationally recognized actress. In the films Persona, Hour of the Wolf, Shame, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, and Face to Face, she creates immensely complicated portraits of contemporary women. Able to communicate an entire range of emotions through minute details of action, she relies neither on sharp mimicry nor intensified vocal intonation in her portrayals. Nevertheless, she is capable of expressing urgency, sensitivity, and agitation by the slightest movement of her eyes. Ullmann interprets the feelings and inner actions of her heroines by suggestion. Although trained in the theater, her experience there is not evident, except perhaps in some long Bergmanesque dialogue passages in which, through her ardor, she is able to draw the audience into her own inner conflict. Ullmann's mastery of the dramatic consists precisely of the simplicity and realism of her expression.

While Ullmann is best known for her work with Bergman, she has performed equally exacting roles while working with other directors. In particular, her portrayal of the rural woman, Kristina, in The Emigrants and The New Land, Jan Troell's two-part film of immigrant life in 19th-century America, merits extraordinary attention. She also acted under Troell's direction in the psychological drama Zandy's Bride.

After the successes of these films, Ullmann accepted several American offers. Her appearances in such films as the musical version of Lost Horizon, 40 Carats, The Abdication, and A Bridge Too Far are tremendous disappointments to the art-house audiences who had followed her rise to stardom with Bergman.

Between films, Ullmann returns to the stage. "I think that one should not go from one film to another. It is no good. If I do not shoot, I write and meet friends. I make about two films per year and one theatrical play. This is a good working program." Ullmann has performed successfully on the stage in Norway, London, and other cities, in addition to her highly praised literary efforts. Most recently, she has worked behind the camera, having directed and scripted two well-received, similar-themed features: Sofie, the tale of a young woman in nineteenth-century Copenhagen who is unable to sever her constricting family ties; and Kristin Lavransdatter, set in the Middle Ages, in which a well-born young woman, betrothed to another from her class, disgraces her family upon falling in love with a knight.

These multiple achievements rank Ullmann on a high level of accomplishment—along with such actresses as Ingrid Thulin, Bibi and Harriet Andersson, and Gunnel Lindblom, she has made a remarkable contribution to Scandinavian film art.

—Vacláv Merhaut, updated by
Audrey E. Kupferberg

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Ullmann, Liv

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

Liv Ullmann, 1939–, Norwegian stage and film actress, b. Japan. She is best known for her roles in nine films directed by Ingmar Bergman, e.g., Persona (1966), Shame (1968), Cries and Whispers (1972), and Autumn Sonata (1978). Ullmann began directing with the Danish film Sofie (1992) and has also directed the Norwegian Kristin Lavransdatter (1995) and the Swedish Private Confessions (1998) and Faithless (2000), both with screenplays by Bergman.

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